New-York tribune., 1887-12-27
THE DEVOCRITS IND UT1H.

| Senator Call of Florida is doing his best to
commit his party in Congress to the Mormon
cause. He has already made himself the cham
pion of the poygamiSts on the ioor OF inc
| Senate. and seems to have been successful III
drawing other Democrats into the same posi-
ton. The Republican party. if IT viewed legs
| Etion as a mere game, could ask no greater
| blundcr Of their opponents than TO PIT them
| selves on record on that side. But higher
considerations. and also sense of humanity
lead Us TO suggest to Senator Gail, Who Is not
DISTINGUISHED for the quickncSS and accuracy
OF his perceptions, that in the stand he Is tax
ing he is opposing the expressed dcS1c o1 the
members OF his own patty in Utah.
| There arc no more strenuous opponents OF
| the Jcsutica scheme to save polygamy by
| making Utah Il State. and 50 taking the power
| to punish it out Of the hands of the lnItcd
| States Government, than the Democrats OF That
| Territory. No more emphatic dissent from
| that project was expressed than III the letter
| of j. b. Rosborough, chairman of the Demo
| cratic Territorial Committee. declining the IN
yitalion of the MolmonS to Join in the convcn-
| ton Of last June, in which a constitution pro-
hibiting pol ygamy was adopted by poly gamlStS'
| who managed to keep their faces stidighu
| through the whole performance. Mr.. los
borough says, indeed. that 50 far as he knows
| "thcrc Is not Democrat, nor aS
| for that matter, a single non-MoI-
mon of any shade of polltcI
| faith in Utah, who is willing to cooperate IN
| the proposed measure. or would not regard lis
| consummation as not only destructive of thor
| individual rights and interests. but suicidal to
the peace and prosperity of the Territory
| The Gentle Democrats are as solidly opposed
to the Statehood scheme as the Gentle Kcpub-
icans. Both parties joined in what they
called Iibcra Convention, to dcnouncc the
proposed State Constitution as "a device Of the
Mormon Church to enable its priesthood to per
| pctuatc BIZ state control their harsh temporal
| power lid corrupt social system, which his
| blrhtcd Utah for the last thnty-fyc years
| Senator Cah should wake up and find ont
whore his party stands.
But his secret reasoning is as palpablc. as Che
Mormon trick He knows that the AlormonS
would he grateful TO the party that made them
independent Of the United states counts. ana
50 for the sake Of a few electoral votes is willing
to hout civilization itself. He may as we'll
spare his pains The admission Of Utah as
State under present conditions would be- an
intolrriblc outrage which the sentiment Of the
country, both Democratic and Ropubll'an'
would never permit. AS for the deception
attempted in the proposed Constitution, It IS
too bunglng 70 impose upon anybody. Two
wears ago "A committee Of twcnt! Two. OF
which Delegate Game was chairman, was APP
pointcd by the General Conference Of the Nor
mon Church to prepare an address and protest
to the President and the country. This address,
when prepared was submitted to mass meetings
in the various counties of the Territory and
unanimously adopted, and so must be accepted
| as the careful and deliberate expression OF Nor
mon opinion. This declared the doctrine Of
| plural marriage to be an immediate Icycia-
| tom from God. and "a vital part Of our re-
| liCion. the decisions Of courts TO the contrlry
| Notwithstanding" Only two years later the
same men get together and formally resolve
that as poygamy is considered Incompatible
with a republican form Of government they
will agree, if Congress viii admit Utah IA
| State, 10 punish it as a misdcmcanoI-nOt
| fclony-by fine Of not more than SlOOO-no
minimum namcd-and by Imprisonment Of not
| less than six months nor more than three years
| The statute Of limitations is not 10 apply, and
all pardons must be approved by the President
| Of the United States. This is an elaborate
provision. in other words, that polygamlsts
should be punished by polygamous Jurics
! polygamous judges poygamous shcriIs. These
two positions are utterly incompatible. One
! of them is, in short, lie. 1t is easy to see
| which ono.